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PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:14 pm 
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One of our 40 something male relatives is thinking about down sizing from a power boat to individual kayaks for his teenagers and a newer Oasis for him and his wife.

The yaks will be used for fun and fishing. He and his about to be teenage son are truly addicted to fishing. So fishing capability is primary and then comes the fun of plain yakking.

The newer Oasis seems to be perfect for he and his wife. With the sidekicks he can do a lot of solo fishing with it with options of trolling motor options.

The daughter should do well with the new Sport. She appears to be maxing out at about 110#'s and 5'6". So, she should have no problem with a Sport from now until she wears it out.

The son is entering a growth spurt, and he is currently about 5'6" and 110#'s. His Dad is 6'1" and 200#'s of muscle. He has uncles on both sides of his family, a little taller and in the 200" category. So that eliminates the Sport. They are thinking about the Revo 11 and the regular Revo. They are big users of fish finders and have some of the newer smaller Lowrance units . The regular Revo has the built in transducer holder, but there is nothing in the catalog re the smaller Revo and a built in transducer holder.

They both like the smaller size/weight of the Revo 11. He and his sister could throw her Sport and his Revo 11 in the back of their family SUV or up on the luggage racks for quick trips to use their yaks. She will start driving in about a year, and they are talking about both of them going yakking when she gets her driver's license.

I have suggested that RAM makes some unique transducer mounts and mounts for their smaller fish finders. So even if the smaller Revo doesn't have the built in transducer mount, that shouldn 't be much of a problem.

So what Revo would you recommend for this young man?

Thanks

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 4:06 pm 
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I think its more a question of his growth spurts. With his dad's genes, he may out grow the Revo11 eventually.
Until then, the Revo11 is plenty capable for fishing and is just as portable as the Sport. A couple observations:

1. I have my transducer mounted in marine goop inside the hull. Its not great, but it does the job.
2. The slim geartracks can be placed on the gunnels and a 1" ram ball mount will work with a Lowrance Elite 4 or 5.
3. Those gear tracks can be used to mount more rod holders if necessary, but I find that 2 rod holders is plenty for that size kayak.
4. When I go offshore, I carry a crate and a 5 gallon bucket for livebait. This is a great use of the trunk, but i DO have a problem of where to store the kingfish and mahi I occasionally catch. So catch-bag placement is a minus for this kayak if you are going after long fish (short fish can always go in the front hatch liner in an insulated bag)

I would say go for the Revo11 and sell it in a few years when he outgrows it so he can look forward to a new Revo13 (or outback) with built in transducer mount and more storage.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:55 pm 
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Location: Jaco, Costa Rica
I wouldn't be as worried about the size of the young man. He will fit in most of the Hobie line. The real question is, What type of waters will they be fishing in/ frequency. That to me would dictate the proper kayaks more than anything.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:58 am 
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^ very true.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:23 pm 
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Thanks for the feed back.

The slim gear tracks seem to work well with the Hobies, and easy to put on.

What problems if any do you have with a hull mounted transducer?

Jcanracer wrote:
I think its more a question of his growth spurts. With his dad's genes, he may out grow the Revo11 eventually.
Until then, the Revo11 is plenty capable for fishing and is just as portable as the Sport. A couple observations:

1. I have my transducer mounted in marine goop inside the hull. Its not great, but it does the job.
2. The slim geartracks can be placed on the gunnels and a 1" ram ball mount will work with a Lowrance Elite 4 or 5.
3. Those gear tracks can be used to mount more rod holders if necessary, but I find that 2 rod holders is plenty for that size kayak.
4. When I go offshore, I carry a crate and a 5 gallon bucket for livebait. This is a great use of the trunk, but i DO have a problem of where to store the kingfish and mahi I occasionally catch. So catch-bag placement is a minus for this kayak if you are going after long fish (short fish can always go in the front hatch liner in an insulated bag)

I would say go for the Revo11 and sell it in a few years when he outgrows it so he can look forward to a new Revo13 (or outback) with built in transducer mount and more storage.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:26 pm 
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CR Yaker wrote:
I wouldn't be as worried about the size of the young man. He will fit in most of the Hobie line. The real question is, What type of waters will they be fishing in/ frequency. That to me would dictate the proper kayaks more than anything.


The protected waters of the California Delta, protected bays and coves in the Bay area, and local rivers and water reservoirs would be the main areas.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:36 pm 
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Grampa Spey wrote:
Thanks for the feed back.
The slim gear tracks seem to work well with the Hobies, and easy to put on.
What problems if any do you have with a hull mounted transducer?


I think I managed to get some air bubbles in the marine goop, either that or I need to redo my wiring in the event that the problem is insufficient voltage to the transducer. These self doubts are my attempt to rationalize why my Elite4 picks up fish and ocean floor structure in 100ft or less of saltwater, but beyond the 150 mark I rarely see structure or mark fish. I also lose my depth reading beyond 350ft.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:29 pm 
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Electrician's putty, or duct seal, is the easiest and foolproof method for MOST transducers mounted inside the hull.

Just take a wad of duct seal (available at most hardware stores, electrician supply, big box centers, internet) and mix it up and roll into a ball. as long as the hull is cleaned with alcohol, just oress the ducer right into the ball and press it down. You can smooth the edges down, and if the signal is poor, try it again until it works well.

It is not permanent, but does not seems to get adversely affected by heat and water. No mess, no fumes, no air bubbles. And no, definitely not my original idea. :D


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 5:46 pm 
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Location: Jaco, Costa Rica
Grampa Spey wrote:
CR Yaker wrote:
I wouldn't be as worried about the size of the young man. He will fit in most of the Hobie line. The real question is, What type of waters will they be fishing in/ frequency. That to me would dictate the proper kayaks more than anything.


The protected waters of the California Delta, protected bays and coves in the Bay area, and local rivers and water reservoirs would be the main areas.


Sorry to get back so slowly, been out in the AI a lot here lately fishing away.
Sounds like no out front fishing, thus smaller is better. I would go with the Revo 11 for lighter car loads and easy launches would be my preference, as you stated, in fact, I'm considering one myself for Minnesota summer fishing. But for outfront here in CR Pacific Ocean, AI is king in soft surf with a Revo 13 for heavy surf launches, the Revo 11 would also work in case he wants to fish out front on occasion.

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:53 am 
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Sounds simple and easy to do and correctable. This would enable you to move the transducer from yak to yak.

Also, this would be great for the young guy if he and his dad go to a Revo 11. He can put the transducer in when he fishes or leave it of it he doesn't plan to fish.

staktup wrote:
Electrician's putty, or duct seal, is the easiest and foolproof method for MOST transducers mounted inside the hull.

Just take a wad of duct seal (available at most hardware stores, electrician supply, big box centers, internet) and mix it up and roll into a ball. as long as the hull is cleaned with alcohol, just oress the ducer right into the ball and press it down. You can smooth the edges down, and if the signal is poor, try it again until it works well.

It is not permanent, but does not seems to get adversely affected by heat and water. No mess, no fumes, no air bubbles. And no, definitely not my original idea. :D

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:57 am 
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"I think I managed to get some air bubbles in the marine goop, either that or I need to redo my wiring in the event that the problem is insufficient voltage to the transducer. These self doubts are my attempt to rationalize why my Elite4 picks up fish and ocean floor structure in 100ft or less of saltwater, but beyond the 150 mark I rarely see structure or mark fish. I also lose my depth reading beyond 350ft."

Most of our use would be in relatively shallow areas, 10' to a max of 30'. We need to see the structure and holes where the stripers hold to feed.

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Last edited by Grampa Spey on Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:04 am 
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Thanks Mark:

"Sorry to get back so slowly, been out in the AI a lot here lately fishing away.
Sounds like no out front fishing, thus smaller is better. I would go with the Revo 11 for lighter car loads and easy launches would be my preference, as you stated, in fact, I'm considering one myself for Minnesota summer fishing. But for outfront here in CR Pacific Ocean, AI is king in soft surf with a Revo 13 for heavy surf launches, the Revo 11 would also work in case he wants to fish out front on occasion."

With staktup's duct seal idea re putting the transducer on the deck of the yak, the Revo 11 should be a great yak for this young guy for years. If he outgrows it, he could steal his dad's Revo. :roll:

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 3:26 pm 
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Location: Jaco, Costa Rica
Grampa Spey wrote:
Thanks Mark:

"Sorry to get back so slowly, been out in the AI a lot here lately fishing away.
Sounds like no out front fishing, thus smaller is better. I would go with the Revo 11 for lighter car loads and easy launches would be my preference, as you stated, in fact, I'm considering one myself for Minnesota summer fishing. But for outfront here in CR Pacific Ocean, AI is king in soft surf with a Revo 13 for heavy surf launches, the Revo 11 would also work in case he wants to fish out front on occasion."

With staktup's duct seal idea re putting the transducer on the deck of the yak, the Revo 11 should be a great yak for this young guy for years. If he outgrows it, he could steal his dad's Revo. :roll:


I use duct seal in my AI, works great. If it doesn't then you need to redo the transducer surrounded to the hull with the duct seal and add a little water.

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